Knot Here: Where Gay Hoosiers Are Getting Hitched

As the General Assembly gears up to revisit a constitutional gay-marriage ban, same-sex couples continue to pack their wedding budgets and head out of state (sorry, Indiana economy—you snooze, you lose!). So where are they going? Do tell.

Des Moines, Iowa
Distance from Indy: 478 miles 

“Iowa has a really great LGBT-wedding website with different vendors who have worked with LGBT couples in the past. We found our photographer [Laurel Scott] through that site. She was awesome and available on short notice.”
—Kendra Schmitz, engineering manager, who exchanged vows with athletics director Kristen Matha last summer

TIP: The Quad Cities area, including Davenport, is even closer—about a five-hour drive.

Provincetown (Cape Cod), Massachusetts
Distance from Indy: 1,031 miles

“September is the best time in Provincetown. It’s not as busy, and you are almost guaranteed 70-degree weather during the day.”
—Bryan Bisson, hair stylist, who got hitched to retail manager Phil Stapp in 2011

TIP: Use Ptown Parties for a beach clambake reception.

York, Maine
Distance from Indy: 1,010 miles

 “[The Stage Neck Inn] is right on the water and has a nice restaurant, too.”
—Brook Hilleary, counselor, who tied the knot with marketing pro Sheila O’Conner in October

TIP: Maine has no waiting period for a marriage license.

New York City
Distance from Indy: 709 miles

“We wanted a civil service. There is a chapel-like room in the city clerk’s office. You’re not just handed a piece of paper, which is really nice.”
—IMA director and CEO Charles Venable, who married marketing consultant Martin Webb in October

TIP: You can start your marriage-license application online to save time.

Washington, D.C.
Distance from Indy: 594 miles

“Everybody who is anybody has their weddings there.”
—Zach Adamson, Indianapolis City-County Councillor, who took the plunge with logistics manager Christian Mosburg in October

TIP: Meridian Hills Park is a popular choice (and Adamson’s) for an outdoor ceremony.

Buffalo, New York
Distance from Indy: 499 miles

“We loved the ceremony [at MacBaxter’s Bed and Breakfast] and everything about the place. We feel like we have lifelong friends there who we will go back to visit.”
—State employee Ron Gibson, who made it official with his partner of 28 years, Jerry Unland, in September

TIP: Retro honeymoon at Niagara Falls!

Illustration by Alex Mathers

This article appeared in the the January 2014 issue.